Mop Top is Here!

Once again I missed the boat on my Tuesday blog post.  At least I'm posting every week now? :-P

My nephew Mop Top is here (I told him he could make up his own alias, but like any teenager he said, "Uh, I don't know.").  I've been having a great time running around with him and trying to show him all that DC has to offer.  In the 3 days he's been here, we've gone to the USMC War Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Washington Monument, the White House, the World War II Memorial, the Reflecting Pool (although it's currently under construction), and the Lincoln Memorial.  I've also revealed the Metro to him.  We haven't really driven anywhere since he's been here.  In fact, he's even mentioned how funny it is that you walk so much more when you're in a big city, than when you're out in the country.

Today we're taking a day for relaxing because yesterday after walking about 4.5 mi through DC we're ready for some good ol' summer vacation teenager style.  To Mop Top's credit, he got up at 5:30am and ran with me Tuesday and Wednesday, but couldn't quite muster the strength this morning :-)  I really wanted to make him go with me today, since yesterday at the White House he said, referring to some secret service agents, "Do you think those guys could beat you up?"  I said, "Probably."  Mop Top replied, "What about when you were still in the Marine Corps, and you know...fit?"

As difficult as it is trying to decipher a teenager's thoughts, I think he's having a good time.  He made a friend down at the pool the other day, and wouldn't you know it, it's a Foreign Service family who is leaving for Hyderabad in July!  We're not leaving until January, but already we've met 3 or 4 FSO's (Foreign Service Officer) who will be in Hyderabad while we're there, I've been emailing with an FSO currently in Hyderabad who invited me to join his motorcycle club when I get there, and now Mop Top will have a friend there if (WHEN) he comes to visit.

This weekend Mop Top and I are headed for the Big Apple!

Happy Travels!

Pancho

A Little Late...

After announcing to everyone that I was going to be diligent about blogging every Tuesday, I missed the first Tuesday :-(  Sorry!

This week Legs and I had our first experience caring for two kids at once, and boy was that interesting!  The couple that watched Thumper for our date last week got their baby-free outing this week.  It was hilarious to see Thumper, a crazed Tasmanian Devil knocking things over, hitting the table, sweating because he was playing so hard, and then Tinkerbell, a perfectly calm and collected 9-month old sitting and gently playing with her toy.  We had a great time; however, Tinkerbell soon realized that her parents were gone, and they weren't coming back soon.  She was not happy about it!  We went for a walk with Thumper, Bambi, Legs, myself, and Tinkerbell and everyone was content once again.  Unfortunately, when we returned Tinkerbell was once again devastated.  We both tried all of our Thumper tricks, but none seemed to help.  In fact, most of mine seemed to make things worse!  Thumper loves to be tossed, tickled, and bounced, and Tinkerbell, well, doesn't.  She finally found some comfort when Legs wedged her in the stroller with a blanket and a toy to chew on.  We took turns slowly pushing the stroller back and forth in the living room for almost two hours.  Tinkerbell never fell asleep.  She just sat and watched everything, but at least seemed content.  When her parents arrived from their date they laughed at the site of their little girl in the stroller in the living room, and Tinkerbell was elated to see them.  She immediately squawked and giggled bouncing back and forth like happy babies do.  Tinkerbell's mother picked her up, and you could tell that Tinkerbell was the happiest baby around.

Although the first babysitting adventure didn't go exactly as we thought it would, it was a lot of fun.  Hopefully there will be more opportunities in future.

Pancho

Date Night!

Pancho and I went on a VERY overdue date night last weekend!  We tried to go to the movies but about 20 minutes into Snow White the fire alarm went off and the giant multiplex theater evacuated.  No fire though so that was good.  We decided to just get refunds later and cruised the mall shopping for Thumper's first birthday present!  Yes, that was fun and totally worthy of date time.  Then we dropped the car off at home and walked across the bridge to the Georgetown waterfront area.  It was a beautiful day and we got to enjoy each other's company without a baby or a dog!  What a treat!  We found a great happy hour and had a drink before we wandered back home in the sunshine.  Once we can get over the outrageous $18 per person per hour rental fee for kayaks, we will explore the Potomac for our next date.

View from the bridge between Arlington and Georgetown

Georgetown Shops

Canal in Georgetown

Georgetown Waterfront Trail

Bridge between Arlington and Georgetown

 

My oh my...

SO.  I googled the name of our blog and all of the pictures on it readily show up under the Google Images tab.  It TOTALLY freaked. me. out. to see Thumper's face so publicly there.  Anyone can see them, copy them, post them elsewhere, download them, whatever, without my knowing.  I don't know what made me think that because I checked a few boxes that seem to promise a bit of privacy somehow no one could ever find our page unless I wanted them to.  Clearly that is not the case.  Now, someone has to know the name of our blog in order to google it and find all of our photos and posts...and if they had the name of it you would think they would just visit the blog rather than look at our photos in Google images.  But (come with me down my rabbit hole), it seems totally plausible that someone who wanted information about me or my family could befriend someone in our circle, find out the name of our blog, google it, find our posts and our photos, recognize my son, learn about what we do and where we live, and convince Thumper's teachers or daycare some day that they were asked by us to pick him up from school.  I'm sure you're thinking, wow, how very irrational!  Maybe I watch too many movies.  BUT, the internet freaks me out sometimes and it just is what it is.  I personally know how easy it is to put pieces of information together from various websites and build a profile of someone.  Doesn't it make sense to make the crazies work a little harder if they want to do something bad to our family?  I think it does.

The point is that in the middle of this mini episode, I tried to password protect our blog...and inadvertently sent an e-mail to all of you that requested you sign in with your Google username and password.  Then I realized that's not what I wanted to do...so I removed the password requirement (or so I think).  You should be able to view the blog without any password.

Given that we have decided the blog will remain entirely public (i.e. not password protected), I have taken down all of the pictures of Thumper.  We will continue to share pictures with you via Kodak (soon to be Shutterfly--e-mail me if you don't get these e-mails and want to be included) and will try to think of a way to share videos with you as well.

I'm sorry for all of the confusion!

Freaked Out by Modern Technology--Legs

Pride

So I've decided that it's not fair to all of our friends and family to use this blog as a way to keep you posted if we don't keep you posted.  I'm going to try to update the blog every Tuesday whether we have something exciting to share, or not.

In the last couple weeks we've attended the Gay Pride Parade, a professional bicycle race, and I even taught Thumper how to clap!  Okay, I think he taught himself, but I can kind of get him to do it on cue...

We had an amazing time at the DC Gay Pride Parade.  It was such an electrifying event to attend, given the recent announcement of support for gay marriage by our President.  I was astonished to see so many religious groups marching in the parade as well.  The environment there was so accepting of every race, religion, sexuality, etc.  I realized that Pride is not a celebration of sexuality exclusive to the gay population, it's a celebration of people being themselves.  It's about being true to yourself no matter what people say or do around you.  It's unfortunate that Legs and I never attended the Pride Parade in Seattle since it is such a massive event.  I think that Pride inspires an attitude of peace, love, and acceptance for everyone in all whom attend, which I feel are the most important attributes we can pass on to Thumper as he grows up.  I hope to make the Gay Pride Parade an annual event for our family.

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

Cowboys!

A giant Peacock man on stilts!

The doors read: God's doors are open to all

We also were fortunate enough to have a professional bicycle race right here in Arlington.  There was a course sectioned off right in the middle of the downtown area and the cyclists completed 100 laps through the streets with thousands of spectators cheering them on.  It was incredible to see how fast these racers actually ride in person.

All-in-all things are going well here.  We are still anxiously awaiting our move to India, which feels like an eternity.  We are excited to host some family members coming to visit!  They'll be arriving at just the right time, since Legs and I are definitely feeling a bit homesick.  Our nephew is coming to stay with us for two weeks near the end of June and will be here for Thumper's 1st birthday!  Grandpa Moon will be coming out in October for a couple weeks, and we will also have Grandma Mir Mir here for the month of November.

I'm just getting over a cold that came on super quick!  I was feeling a little achy and within a few hours I had a 103 degree fever.  Legs had to convince me to take off my fleece jacket with the heating pad tucked inside when she saw the thermometer.  I was grumpy about it, but I knew she was right.  Some rest, Advil, and best of all some fresh ginger tea with lemon and honey got me through it and I'm back on my feet.  Thumper and Legs have their roller coaster back!

Soccer and Poop

Well I don't have all that much to share other than that I have clearly stolen Pancho's thunder and am posting pictures from his big night out on the town without baby and wife in tow.  I was getting my hair cut and the salon offered everyone there free tickets to the USA vs. Brazil soccer game which I accepted, of course, without any hesitation!  I stayed home with Thumper and Pancho had a fun night out with my friend from Paris and her boyfriend.  It was a full house and they had a blast!  It's crazy to think you can take the metro and end up in a different state.  

Pancho, Foxy, and E-Sizzle (creative, yes?) at the USA vs. Brazil soccer game!

Pancho was one of 67,000 fans in the stadium...Legs was at home asleep in her bed after a  lovely Aveda experience.

In other news, my dearest Thumper was given the privilege of naked time by his naive parents.  He rolled over, stood up, and peed on the couch.  Then just as I went to get a rag to clean it up he made a poop face and dropped a terd...and then, the skilled stander that he is, stayed upright, took a half step and stomped his feet in it.  No more naked time until he is potty trained.